Writing Process of Daitoku Daiichi - Summaries

by

Daitoku Daiichi

"In this busy, dusty world, having accomplished nothing, I suddenly recalled all the girls I had known, considering each in turn, and it dawned on me that all of them surpassed me in behaviour and understanding; that I ,shameful to say for all my masculine dignity, fell short of the gentler sex." - from the Dream of Red Mansion.

As I have interests in books, film, television and video games, they are often major influences on my work. Although I like to write something innovative, I am also aware of respecting the work of others before me. It can also be fun and more meaningful to the reader when my novel references some other work.

One of the main things I do before planning a story is to narrow down on these 'selected works'. For 'Hot Spring', the first in the series of Godfrey and Chucky's adventures, I spent two months 'drawing out the essence' from the Chinese classic 'Dream of Red Mansion'. Since this revered classic had a common theme with my story idea, I wanted to make sure that I don't write a scene only to discover it had been done before. Both my story and "Dream of Red Mansion" deals with the growing up phase of a young boy in an affluent household. In both stories, the young boy is uneasy with his father and fascinated by his aunt. The adolescent is also discovering his conflicting feelings for two of his female friends. But enough of the similarities for now.

VBT

The original work has 120 chapters and about 2500 pages. I have the English translation from Foreign Languages Press. I remember taking 6 months to finish reading this, and I was sure I didn't want to write something of that length. So I did a summary of the timeless work, which helped me to remember some of the major plot themes I had read before. You have to know how something is approached traditionally, before you can give it a twist, don't you?

In short, the Dream of Red Mansions describes the slow decay of the esteemed Jia family, and how the young heir Jia Baoyu awakens to spiritual discovery. Stripped bare of all details, the classic is about a boy living in a large house with plenty of women.

On the other hand, in 'Hot Spring', the Gao family is prospering, and the story is about how they overcome a threat to their business. There is still the wonderful dynamic of a young boy living with many beautiful women in the hotel and at school. On top of that, the Gao family hotel hosts wealthy tourists Godfrey and Chucky, and even assists them on the adventure. The hotel's name, Red Jade Palace Hotel, is an allusion to the classic novel, and provides an extra layer of amusement for its fans.

Doing the summaries beforehand can really help an author to plan out the story well, and ensure there is no unwanted repetition with a more famous cultural work. For my second book I am already summarizing the films that I hope to pay homage to. The same applies when a TV series or a video game inspired your writing passion. If you want to read a fresh, innovative novel inspired by 'Dream of Red Mansions', you should definitely catch your copy of 'Hot Spring' at Kobo books.

Win a copy of YA novel Life and Times of the Heir and the Keeper

by 

Etta King 

Ah the guest blog! My time to shine! What shall I share? This is rather like a “Show and Tell” isn’t it? Hmmm…well I think I’ll go back in time a bit – not too far – and take a peek at a little episode in dear Jonathan’s life. Now Jon is sort of the quintessential prodigal son; he just loves doing whatever he wants, bucking convention (why should he join the legacy of Reinhardt men inducted into the Keepers?) and breaking hearts (didn’t an ex call him Delish? Yum!), yet he always finds his way home (figuratively, of course, since he can’t wait to leave his grandfather’s mansion…hey! I never said he was sane!). But don’t the daring ones always have the most fun? Go to the best parties? Kiss the cutest girls? Perhaps there’s a method to this madness? Let’s see…the year was…I’m blanking…the grade? 11^th! Oh high school, the wonder years…

Jon

I was exhausted. But in a good way. A sated way. That was pretty much the only reason I was smiling at the gentle nudging that was bringing me out of my coma. I didn’t even have the blinding headache I associated with any and all brands of Tequila. I was in an Aybee-trance. AB Baby, my sort-of, maybe, probably girlfriend. Angelica B. McCarthy, to anyone who wasn’t a ‘close and personal friend.’ Which was a grand total of probably five people. Yeah, AB was very popular. She was also insanely cute. No, not hot, cute. She was a Blake Lively, not a Megan Fox; you never could bring yourself to hate her, you just wanted her to notice you. She had that effect, a subtle glow that made even teachers curry her favor. And I was lying in her bed. How I’d gotten up here, I couldn’t remember. What we’d done? Well I remembered that. That brought a second smile to my lips.

“I know what you’re thinking.” She whispered in my ear.

I had to laugh. Somehow, I didn’t doubt that; she had a way of guessing people’s thoughts.

“You need to get up; I’m riding with Kit this morning.”

I opened my eyes and raised a brow at that. Christopher, who insisted everyone call him Kit, was her British “cousin.” The air quotes were unimagined; I was pretty sure Kit and I were as related as he was to AB. I couldn’t mentally reconcile what I knew was a lie, but I consoled myself with the fact that at least I knew.

“Why are you riding with him, you could be riding with me,” I replied with a crooked smile. It was corny and I knew it, but she laughed.

“I promised,” she said, brushing her hair out of her face. “Besides, Cassidy needs the exercise, and you haven’t ridden since…” She paused and chewed her lip before continuing. “Anyway, you know it doesn’t mean anything.”